Made Up Stories
by love-child-1403
Summary: John seriously slips up and Nancy witnesses a private event that changes her whole perspective...


**Title: Made Up Stories  
Author: love-child-1403  
Rating: PG, or T  
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis****  
Pairing: John/Rodney  
Warning: Slash pairing, angst, AU**

**Summary: Nancy sees something she'd rather forget.**

**Disclaimer: As you all should know, I do not own Stargate Atlantis, John (though I would love to - that HAIR), Rodney or Nancy. Not that I'd want to own Nancy. She is nothing but a hindrance!**

**AN/ This is based on the amazing song by Go Audio, _Made Up Stories, _as anybody who knows the song probably would have guessed from the title. This is also posted on my livejournal account, so don't go accusing me of plagarism! It is my belief that John Sheppard and Rodney McKay are together in Stargate Atlantis in EVERY way... They just don't feel like telling everyone at the moment. Oh, and Ronon and Teyla know. Because, they too are awesome. Anyway, enjoy the story despite my rambling and the obvious AU-ness of the whole situation...**

**--xox--**

Nancy wasn't bothered much by the fact that the song drifting out of the open doors was a slow one. It didn't mean anything to her that there were only two cars in the parking lot, that there wasn't anyone outside who'd snuck out for a quick cigarette, that she was the only person walking up to the old hall... The scattered spots of light that spilled out onto the concrete hinted that the high school reunion was playing host to a disco ball and Nancy snorted at the thought. She knew that those sorts of things had never attracted John. Then again, she hadn't thought he'd go to this stupid reunion - all the things he'd ever told her about his time at school had been vague at best - and here she was, coming to meet him because he hadn't even remembered his goddamned coat. She smiled wryly and ran a hand over the soft, worn leather. It was John's favourite jacket and she knew how cold he got on the winter nights... He wasn't usually the sort of person to forget something important like his own health but he'd seemed a little out of sorts in the weeks leading up to this night. Nancy put it down to nerves at seeing his old peers.

When she entered the building, she froze at the sight she was greeted with. Even in this public place she felt as though she was intruding on something private, her body aching with the need to run whilst her feed stuck themselves fast to the ground. John stood before her on the dance floor, which was empty but for another man. She'd never seen him before in her life but she had to assume that her husband knew him; why else would they have their arms wrapped around each other like that? The cold shivers that were running through her body had nothing to do with the breeze that was blowing in through the open doors and everything to do with the scene in front of her.

The man in John's arms wasn't particularly attractive but there was something in the way he was looking at John that seemed to make him glow. His mouth was slightly crooked but there was the smallest hint of a satisfied smile tugging at its corners, his blue eyes sparkling with an emotion that Nancy felt too ill to explore very deeply. The fact that the exact same emotion was reflected in her husband's dark, hazel eyes made her sicker still.

It took something pretty spectacular for her to come to her senses, but by the time it happened she'd almost been expecting it. John reached up to cup the man's face with a hand, gently brushing a thumb across his cheek before tugging him softly into a kiss, their mouths moving together in a way that suggested they'd done this before; maybe they had. There was something in that kiss that told Nancy this was more than just a fling. The obvious passion between the two of them made her feel hollow and their lips were still fused together when she fled, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She wiped them away fiercely as she got in the car, realising and not caring that she'd dropped John's coat when she entered the hall. She had never felt so out of control before and she knew that she probably wasn't safe to be driving but didn't see any other way of getting home besides getting a lift with her husband. She shuddered and gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands, her knuckles turning white with the pressure. That might well be more dangerous. Because, in the split-second it had taken for Nancy to realise what was going on, she had felt the over-whelming desire to kill John Sheppard.

**--xox--**

John bid Rodney goodbye, the guilt that weighed heavily on his conscience suddenly overwhelmed with feelings of sadness and regret that he had to leave so soon. He knew it was well after midnight but leaving like this made him feel broken. He was shocked out of his reverie when he found his favourite jacket lying just inside the door but didn't think much of it. He'd been pretty sure he hadn't brought it with him but he'd been so worked up about seeing Rodney again that he hadn't exactly been thinking straight. He dismissed the growing sense of discomfort in his gut and shrugged the jacket on, the fabric warm against the bare skin of his fore-arms.

The drive home was uneventful but the sense of unease that had begun to creep into his consciousness over the past few hours was growing ever more persistent, the logical side of him failing to come up with a reason for his worry while a small, paranoid part of him flailed madly, demanding his attention. He ignored it for the moment, concentrating on the road and breathing a deep sigh of relief when he ended up on his driveway, unscathed. As he got out of the car he noted that Nancy's wasn't where she usually left it. The angle at which it had been parked was messy and it looked as though she had been quick to do it, as one of the sun-visors was still down, an act that usually aggravated Nancy's OCD no end. This was doing nothing to lessen the worry that was clouding his mind.

John shut the door to the house quietly behind him, throwing his keys on the hall table and kicking off his shoes. In his haze of mild euphoria and acute discomfort it took him a moment to process what he was seeing. When he did, he still couldn't believe he was seeing things properly.

"Oh, you're back..." Nancy's tone was not one of surprise, but rather one of resigned sadness, as though she had been prepping herself for this moment but didn't know quite how to handle the situation. There were two suitcases at her feet and she was buttoning her coat with single-minded determination, though her hands were shaking.

"Nancy... What's going on?" John asked slowly, the drawl with which he usually spoke changing slightly, twisting with his concern. She had packed and looked more than ready to leave. Her own keys were in her hand and she was toying with them nervously as her eyes darted between him and the door. Clearly she had been hoping to leave without confrontation.

"Look, John... I just... I can't do this anymore, okay?" she said softly, as though speaking any louder would break something between the two of them. The look John saw in her eyes when she met his surprised him. The calmness with which she spoke was deceptive; he had never seen her so angry in all the years he had been with her. And he could guess why.

"Nancy, I..." John stopped, defeated. There was nothing he could say that would be able to fix this. "I'm sorry." His wife nodded, biting her lip, which he recognised as one of her tells - she was still angry, but she was getting to the stage where she needed time alone to figure things out without outside interference.

And that's why John let her leave. He heard her car start up and winced reflexively at the sound the crunch of tyres on gravel; it always seemed too loud to him this late at night. He tried to distract himself with War and Peace but didn't manage to get far past his original 10-page marker before he was pacing the room again, angry with Nancy for leaving without an explanation - though he needed none -, angry with Rodney for being right there when John was beginning to think he could do without him, angry with himself for being angry with them...

Ten minutes later he was on the phone to Rodney, pouring out his heart and somehow managing to make the situation sound not half as bad as it was, which seemed to have become somewhat of a habit for him. Rodney could always see through this though and managed to get every detail from him before coming to a conclusion; he made him talk about the look in Nancy's eyes, about the jacket that he'd assumed he'd brought himself... Which had obviously been dropped by Nancy when she saw them together. He talked until his throat was hoarse and his eyes were sore with the effort of holding back his tears. Even then, a few words from Rodney seemed to make everything seem better, more manageable.

"John? I'm not going anywhere."

**--xox--**

**Well, I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed making Nancy go away and leave the boys to it. All criticisms and compliments (obviously) welcome so please review with what you think :)**

**-x-H-x-**


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